The hero’s relationship to family: A preliminary sociobiological analysis of sex differences in hero characteristics using children’s fantasy literature.

Abstract

Very few studies have used an evolutionary approach to help understand fictional heroes, and none have directly addressed how the sex of the author might influence the characteristics of the hero. If evolved behavioral differences in the sexes have influenced the subconscious tendencies of human males and females, these differences should be reflected in the fictional characters each creates. Based on sexual selection and inclusive fitness theory, I predicted that females will be more likely than males to create heroes who have family members, and that family members will be more important in the plotlines of female-generated stories. Information collected from twenty children's fantasy novels published after 1994 display the predicted trends. In addition, male authors often created parents who were problematic (insane, irresponsible, or evil), something the female authors never did. Further, rebellion, revenge or anger were emotions that commonly initiated the action in male-generated stories, but not female-generated stories. If these trends represent a true difference in how males and females visualize heroes, further study into hero differences based on the sex of the author may provide information of interest to those who study gender issues and evolutionary psychology.

Investigating Altruism and Selfishness Through the Hypothetical Use of Superpowers

“…Specifically, men were more likely to engage in heroic or chivalrous acts, while women were prone to engage in acts that were relational and nurturing. Extending such findings to the study of superheroes, Ingalls (2010) found that in more than half of superhero stories written by women, the primary goal of the hero was to save a close family member. The driving forces behind heroes created by men tended to be revenge, a desire to advance one’s self-image, or a desire to save everyone.…”

Sex Differences in the Creation of Fictional Heroes with Particular Emphasis on Female Heroes and Superheroes in Popular Culture: Insights from Evolutionary Psychology

“…Also, by focusing on books deemed appropriate for children, sexual situations are either absent or somewhat concealed, allowing the story to focus on the tasks and abilities of the heroes. My initial research in this area used books published between 1994 and 2006 (Ingalls, 2010), and the oldest authors in this group were in their twenties during the 1960s women's movement (with the majority born after 1960). (For this research, only the first novel in a series was used because I believe the first book is likely to represent the most pure vision of the author, before commentary or the problem of what should happen next begins to shape the story.…”

“…A possible fifth character for this group would be a fairy trained in combat skills who is able to effectively use modern weapons (Colfer, 2001); however, even though within her group she is an extraordinary soldier, she is surrounded by other somewhat capable soldiers of mystical origins (other fairies and centaurs, etc.). Thus, within the nine books written by men, three of the central females are trained warriors, five are not even human, and none are completely normal human girls (Ingalls, 2011).…”

“…Thus, although Kendra does not use the crafted weapons herself, her solution lies with these weapons and the battle than ensues. Overall, all of the stories written by men posses a climatic battle, and in more than half, crafted weapons are involved (Ingalls, 2011). For the stories written by women, approximately half of the stories end with some type of battle, but none of the heroes use crafted weapons.…”

“…For the stories written by women, approximately half of the stories end with some type of battle, but none of the heroes use crafted weapons. When the female-generated heroes use weapons, they are magical or common objects (such as a rock in The Shadow Thieves ; Ingalls, 2011; Ursu, 2006).…”